


Give Me Love

by TheLonelySunflower



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Finn Is Adorable, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Internalized Homophobia, Love Confessions, M/M, Mike Chang being an unproblematic king, Mostly just Finn and Puck, Mr. Schue being not horrible for once, Not Rachel Friendly, Puck has a soft side, Slow Burn, Song fic, Supportive Coach Beiste, Supportive Quinn, Supportive Step-Brother Kurt, idk how to tag, season three fix-it, the other relationships are kind just background
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26132245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelySunflower/pseuds/TheLonelySunflower
Summary: What if Finn and Rachel hadn’t gotten back together at Nationals in New York? This story follows Puck and Finn on their relationship journey throughout senior year, one step at a time.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Finn Hudson/Noah Puckerman, Mike Chang/Tina Cohen-Chang, Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	Give Me Love

High school hadn’t been easy on Puck and Finn’s friendship, yet somehow they still managed to make it through stronger than ever. The two of them had been friends since first grade, and had been pretty much attached to each other’s hips ever since. They never expected high school to challenge that in any way, but it did. Oh, it certainly did. 

Puck was the first person to admit that the majority of the turmoil between him and Finn in high school was his fault. After all, he had tortured Finn about joining Glee clubs for weeks before actually joining himself, knocked up Finn’s first girlfriend, and made out with Rachel when she and Finn were dating. Puck had been a terrible friend to Finn during the first two years of high school, and it tore Puck up inside. Throughout everything Puck had been through his life, Finn had always been right by Puck’s side to help him through everything. Everything between Mr. and Mrs. Puckerman’s relationship falling apart, his dad walking out on them, Puck being forced to become the man of the house, his mom becoming completely emotionally withdrawn and essentially giving up on raising Puck, Finn had always been there. Finn had held Puck’s hand, been Puck’s shoulder to cry on when he needed to, made Puck laugh when he wanted to, and reminded Puck that he deserved all the love in the world. Finn had been the one constant in Puck’s life, and Puck had completely screwed him over in return. What kind of friend was he?

After everything that he had put Finn through, Puck was determined to make it up to him. To amend for everything that he had done in the past, to be the best friend that Finn deserved. Deep down, Puck knew that he wouldn’t be able to fully pay Finn back for everything that he had done for him, but he could certainly try. Whenever Finn called, Puck would immediately pick up the phone. Whether Finn needed a favor or simply wanted to talk, Puck would stay on the phone for hours if that’s what they needed. Puck would help Finn with anything Glee club related: from coming up with songs to perform, to teaching him choreography, to learning lyrics together, to even helping Finn run Glee club rehearsals whenever Mr. Schue was too busy chasing down Ms. Pillsbury or arguing with Coach Sylvester in Figgins’s office to actually do his job. The two of them had even been able to restore their perfect quarterback-running back relationship that completely turned around the football team. By the time senior year came around, Finn and Puck’s friendship was restored to what it once was: the two of them attached at the hip. It was once again Puck and Finn against the world. 

Of course, Jewish God couldn’t let Puck have something nice for once. He couldn’t just leave his friendship with Finn as is. The universe just had to throw a curveball at Puck and screw everything up for him all over again. He had tried to ignore how he was feeling, tried to bury the feelings so far down that they would hopefully just disintegrate. Puck was in such denial about his feelings that he had actually convinced himself that they had gone away. Despite this, Puck couldn’t deny the way his heart would melt whenever Finn would smile at him. 

Puck when exactly he started feeling the way he did about Finn. He tried to retrace his steps to see when the feelings popped up, but the fact that he had been friends since they were six years old made that difficult as it was a lot of steps to retrace. In a weird way, his retracing made him realize that the feelings had been there for a while, and had just gotten harder to ignore over time. After all, it would explain everything with Quinn and Rachel. The more Puck thought about it, the more he realized that what he did with the two girls was more about trying to get them away from Finn than anything else. It was still a really shitty thing to do to his best friend, but at least his actions made a lot more sense to him now. 

Once Puck stopped trying to bury his feelings deep into his soul, he felt really freaking stupid. He was in love with his best friend for Christ sake! That was definitely confirmed gay. Except for the fact that he wasn’t gay. Puck was a freaking badass! He was the star running back on the football team; rocked a killer Mohawk; drove a killer motorcycle; played the guitar; broken every rule in the school’s code of conduct; had been with every girl in the school; and had even been to juvie. Noah Puckerman was the coolest guy in school. There was no way he could possibly be gay! Plus, Finn was the only guy that Puck has ever been interested in. Up until discovering his feelings for Finn, Puck had been laser focused on girls. At the very least, he wasn’t a hundred percent gay. It was probably one of those fifty-fifty situations where you dig both genders, bisexual or whatever. Even though Kurt was constantly rambling on about how bisexuality didn’t exist, Puck was now fairly certain that it did. 

These new discovered feelings towards his best friend gave Puck an unexplainable feeling of guilt. After everything the two boys had been through together they were finally back on track, and Puck just had to go and screw it up again. Him and his stupid feelings that he tried to hard to control, but just couldn’t. Puck couldn’t control the way his heart fluttered whenever Finn smiled his adorable smile at him. He couldn’t control the giddy feeling that would rise in his stomach whenever Finn would casually through his arm around Puck. He couldn’t control the excitement and adrenaline whenever him and Finn were out on the football field together. He couldn’t control the intense feelings of pure happiness whenever the two of them sang together. And Puck most certainly couldn’t control the blush that would rise in his cheeks whenever Finn would catch Puck staring at him during glee club. God, when did he become such a girl?

Puck quickly decided that he couldn’t let Finn know how he felt or let anyone know for that matter. If anyone at school found out, Puck’s world would completely shatter. The guys on the football team would make his life a living hell, and probably Finn’s life too. Puck couldn’t allow that. He couldn’t let Finn suffer because of something Puck did anymore he already had. Plus, he’d have to deal with Kurt giving him an endless lecture about how big of hypocrite Puck was for torturing Kurt his freshmen year about being gay when Puck himself played for both teams. Puck figured that he probably deserved that lecture, but he still wanted to avoid it if necessary. Now that he thought about it, Puck figured that all the gay jokes he made over the years were more about himself than anyone else. Some type of self hatred or whatever. 

Most important to him though was that Finn never found out. Finn was straight. He liked girls. There was a zero percent chance that Finn would ever return Puck’s feelings. Puck had a small sliver of hope when Finn and Rachel first broke up. The sliver of hope grew a little when Rachel tried to patch things up at Nationals in New York only to have Finn shut her down. At the end of the day though, Puck knew that he was only kidding himself; there was no chance that Finn would ever feel the same way about Puck. If Finn ever found out about how Puck felt, that would really be the end of their friendship. There would be no going back from that. Puck couldn’t lose Finn again; he just couldn’t. It was better to have Finn in his life as a friend than to not have him at all. So, it was best to keep his feelings a secret. 

That turned out to be easier said than done. Puck thought it would be so easy to hide how he felt. What he hadn’t realized was that being in love with your best friend without them knowing was pretty much an everyday torture. Whenever he was with Finn, a horrible aching feeling would rise in Puck’s chest. It was like his heart was reaching out to Finn, begging to be closer to him. Puck wouldn’t allow that, though. He couldn’t take advantage of Finn’s friendship like that. Therefore, Puck did everything in his power to not try and give himself away. He kept his head down in the locker room, stared straight ahead whenever he would perform in glee club, and looked at his feet whenever Finn would perform. He couldn’t let his card down and risk making Finn uncomfortable, risk scaring Finn off. He had to keep his feelings stuck inside. 

The problem with trying to keep his feelings in was that they found a way out in a much more negative manner. Without meaning to, Puck found himself slipping back into his old, aggressive self. He was angrier, meaner, and scarier than before. He would snap at people like it was nothing, storm through the hallways with a fury in his eyes, and punched pretty much any guy on the team who so much as irritated him. The pent up emotions were becoming too much for him to handle. Puck didn’t like this version of himself, and started to find different ways to let out his anger instead of raging on everyone who crossed his path. The two ways he settled on was performing rather intense rock songs in glee club and beating the crap out of the punching bag in the boy’s locker room. 

While these methods proved to be effective in appeasing Puck’s anger, they also seemed to catch Finn’s attention. One day when Puck was letting his aggression out on the locker room punching bag, Finn walked in and asked, “Hey Puck, are you busy right now?”

“Nah man,” Puck answered as he removed his gloves, “What’s going on?”

“I just wanted to talk to you for a second,” Finn explained. 

Puck nodded as he picked up his water bottle, “Totally, what did you wanna talk about?”

As Puck took a long swig from his water bottle, Finn told him, “Well, you just seem to be really...frustrated lately. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

When he said that, Puck’s heart dropped to his feet. Finn had figured him out. He should’ve known better than to try to hide something from Finn. They had known each other for twelve years after all. Each of them could tell whenever something was off with the other. It only made sense that Finn knew something was going on with Puck. 

Despite the fact that he was caught with his pants down, Puck still tried to keep his guard up. He shrugged and said, “Oh yeah, I’m perfectly fine. Just got some stuff on my mind.”

“Like what?” Finn questioned. 

“Ehh, just usual stuff,” Puck responded, “Nothing too important.”

“Are you sure?” Finn asked, “Cause it seems like it’s pretty important to make you so angry all the time.”

At this point, Puck was getting slightly annoyed at the fact that Finn could read him so well. He knew that when Puck said he was fine, he was lying. Even so, why couldn’t Finn just leave it be? Puck gritted his teeth a little as he said, “I’m fine. Just drop it.”

“No, I’m not gonna drop it. It’s obvious something’s bothering you and I want to know what it is,” Finn stated firmly. 

“I said I’m fine!” Puck screamed as he flipped over a towel cart, “Why can’t you just let it go?!”

“Because people who are fine don’t react like that,” Finn told him. 

Puck sighed loudly at that, knowing that Finn was right. As Puck ran a hand over his face, Finn sat down on one of the benches in the locker room. He patted the spot next to him and said, “Come on, man. We’re best friends. We’ve gotten through a lot of crap together. I’m sure whatever this is, we'll get through it too. Just talk to me.”

Puck sighed once more as he sat down next to him and started ringing his hands together. Without even fully registering what exactly he was saying, Puck let slip out, “I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

As soon as he said that, Puck’s heartbeat started to speed up rapidly and he felt his hands start to shake. He couldn’t believe that he was so stupid to say that. It was basically opening up the floodgates to everything he was feeling. About his questionable sexuality, his feelings towards Finn, how much he loved Finn’s smile. 

Puck felt Finn’s eyes on him, but refused to look up from his shoes as the other boy asked, “Honest about what?”

Just when it seemed as if Puck was screwed, his brain quickly found a way out. He swore to himself that he would never lie to Finn again, but that didn’t necessarily mean he had to tell Finn everything. Not yet, at least. He could just start small with the whole truth; baby steps or some crap like that. Puck swallowed in order to fight back the bile that was slowly rising in his throat before taking a deep breath and saying, “I, umm...I like guys.”

“You do?” Finn asked, sounding a little taken aback. 

“Yeah, yeah I do,” Puck said quietly, still maintaining eye contact with the tile floor beneath him, “B-but I like girls too. That hasn’t changed. I like both, so I’m only like...fifty percent gay.”

“Bisexual?” Finn offered. 

“I guess,” Puck mumbled. 

An incredibly uncomfortable silence fell between the two of them as neither Puck nor Finn dared to say anything. Finn’s eyes were practically burning into Puck’s soul, but Puck still couldn’t bring himself to look up. He couldn’t bear to see Finn’s reaction. The silence was so thick and palpable that if you tried to cut it with a knife, the knife would break. It all became too much for Puck to handle as he jumped up and declared, “You know what? Forget it. Just forget it!”

He bunched one of the lockers aggressively and said, “This whole thing is stupid.”

“No, no, it’s not,” Finn told him, finally standing up and walking over to Puck, “Why would it be stupid?”

“Because I’ve spent years making dumb gay jokes, throwing Kurt into dumpsters, hell I even tortured you about glee club when you first joined all because I was too humalited about myself! I took it out on everyone else that I, big bad Puckerman, liked guys! All because I was scared of how people would react! About people torturing me like the torture Hummel! How freaking stupid is that?” Puck yelled, tears threatening to spill but being held back purely by Puck’s stubbornness. 

Finn shook his head as he put his hands on Puck’s shoulders and reassured him, “It’s not stupid, Puck. I promise you it’s not stupid at all. That’s not an easy thing to go through. Trust me, I know it’s not easy.”

“Yeah right,” Puck scoffed, “How could you possibly know?”

Finn took a deep breath before answering, “Because I like both too.”

That certainly made Puck stop in his tracks. Talk about getting slapped in the face with information. After getting over his initial shock, an angry heat started to rise in Puck’s stomach. It didn’t make sense; why would Finn just suddenly spring this on him? There was no way it could be true. He growled out, “You’re lying.”

Finn’s face dropped at that as he stated to frantically say, “No, I’m not. I swear to God, I’m not! I promise I’m not! Why would I lie about this?”

“To try and make me feel better,” Puck said defiantly. 

“Puck, I promise you. I’m not lying to you. I’m telling you the truth,” Finn reassured him, “Have I ever lied to you?”

Puck didn’t even have to think about that answer. Finn was always a straight shooter with Puck. He always told him the honest, unfiltered truth, no matter what. There was no way Finn would lie to him, especially about something this big. Pcuk finally answered, “No, you haven’t.”

“Exactly,” Finn responded. 

Puck, still slightly confused, asked, “So why didn’t you tell me before?”

“It never came up,” Finn said jokingly. 

Puck couldn’t help but chuckle at that before saying, “Don’t make me laugh.”

“Sorry,” Finn said before telling his friend, “Seriously though, I was just worried about how everyone would react, about people judging me. After Quinn and Rachel, I honestly wasn’t sure anyone would believe me. You’re actually the first person I told.”

“You’re the first person I told too,” Puck said, smiling a little, “Although, I would totally buy you discovering a love for guys after dating Rachel.”

Finn chuckled a little at that before saying, “Hey mean.”

Puck just shrugged before turning serious and telling Finn, “Thanks for having this talk, man. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. Thanks for opening up to me,” Finn responded before asking, “Are you feeling better now?”

“Definitely,” Puck answered, “Thanks for opening up to me too. It really does mean a lot that I’m the first person you told.”

The two friends smiled at each other before Finn pulled Puck into a hug as he said, “Come here.”

Puck glady hugged him back, holding his friend for a little longer than necessary, but neither boy pulled away for a while. When they finally did pull away, Puck felt like a cement block had been lifted off of his chest and he could breathe just a little bit easier. It was nice to know that Finn was so accepting of Puck, and that Finn trusted Puck enough to come out to him first. Puck walked out of the locker room with Finn with a little bit of extra pep in his step. 

As the two of them walked to the choir room, Finn asked him, “So when do you realize?”

_Crap, I’m screwed_ Puck thought for a split second. Thinking on his feet, Puck answered, “I kind of always knew, but I pretty much was in denial about it until recently. I just kind of realized that it wasn’t going away. Plus, I started having some steamy dreams about Chris Evans.”

Majority of that was the truth. After all, he had just recently accepted his bisexuality. Plus, Puck did have a thing for Chris Evans. What he didn’t mention was that in Puck’s eyes, Chris Evans had nothing on Finn. Puck then asked, “What about you? Who was your spring awakening?”

Finn chuckled before answering, “Umm, I guess I always kind of noticed girls and guys, but what really cemented it for me was when we watched _The Outsiders_ in seventh grade after we read the book. Dallas Winston was totally hot.”

“Please, Sodapop was way better looking,” Puck argued, “He’s played by Rob fricking Lowe.”

Finn just shrugged and said, “Hey, I have a thing for bad boys.”

When he heard that, Puck had to do everything in his power to keep from blushing like crazy. He is still a badass, after all. He had a reputation to uphold. Still, when Finn threw his arm around Puck’s shoulders as they walked into the choir room, that same giddy feeling once again rose in his stomach. 

After that conversation in the locker room, Puck felt just a little bit lighter. He was a lot less angry than he had been in the past few weeks. He had finally come out to Finn, and it couldn’t have gone any better. Granted, Finn was still the only person that knew, but that was good enough for Puck. Finn had been so accepting and wonderful. Now that it was over, Puck couldn’t understand how he thought it would’ve gone wrong. Finn was the kindest person that Puck ever met. Of course he would be okay with Puck being bi. He certainly wasn’t expecting Finn to come out at the same time, but Puck certainly wasn’t complaining. If anything, it just made the moment more special. 

The longing feeling that Puck had in his chest when he was with Finn was still there, but it was a little less painful now. Maybe it was because now, he felt like he might actually have a chance. Granted, the anxiety about actually confessing his feelings to Finn outweighed his hope about possibly having a chance with him. There were probably a million other guys or girls that Finn would rather go out with than Puck. If Puck stuck his neck out there only to get rejected, he wasn’t sure he would be able to recover from the heartbreak. So, he left it at just him coming out. He wasn’t necessarily happy with keeping his feelings a secret, but he was content with it. 

Just when it seemed like there might be some peace in Puck’s life, the universe, or in this case, Mr. Schue, of course had to go and screw it up for him. Three weeks after Puck and Finn’s conversation in the locker room, Mr. Schue walked into the classroom and wrote the week’s assignment on the whiteboard: “I Have to Say I Love You in a Song.”

Puck immediately went on the defensive by saying, “That song sucks.”

“This song doesn’t suck, Noah,” Rachel argued, “It is a beautiful song that expresses the deepest of the human emotions: love, and how that feeling is so powerful that it is better conveyed through song rather than words.”

“Exactly,” Mr. Schue responded, pointing to Rachel with his expo marker. The look on his face showed that he was pleased that his lesson was getting across to someone. Even if that someone was the biggest suck up in all of glee club. 

Puck just rolled his eyes and warned Rachel, “It’s Puck to you.”

Mr. Schue then continued with his lesson, “Oftentimes, we struggle to express our love for people with ordinary words. It’s such a strong and overwhelming emotion that words seem to fail us. Luckily, that’s why we have music. Music gives us an opportunity to express love in a way that words can’t. James Croce perfectly captures this with his classic, ‘I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song’. So this week for your assignment, you will all choose a song that perfectly captures your love for someone special to you. You don’t have to admit to everyone who it is you’re singing about. You just have to sing.”

Upon hearing the assignment, Puck’s brain went into overdrive. Of course, there was only one person he could think of singing about: Finn. At first, that panicked him. He would basically be confessing his feelings for his best friend with the entire glee club watching him. The more he thought about it though, the more he realized that might be perfect. If he didn’t have to tell anyone who he was singing about, it would be completely up for interpretation who exactly Puck’s song was for. It could be about Quinn or Lauren Zizes or even Beth as far as everyone else was concerned. In a way, it was kind of perfect. Puck could get all his feelings out without anyone, not even Finn knowing. At least his feelings would finally be out in the open. 

Just as he was beginning to think of a list of potential songs, Mr. Schue then announced, “Before anyone gets too ahead of themselves, there is going to be a little twist to this assignment.”

“Oh God, please tell me this doesn’t include you rapping,” Santana said sarcastically. 

Mr. Schue answered, “No, it doesn’t. The twist is that you will be singing these songs as duets. The goal is two imagine your duet partner is the person you’re singing the song for.”

Okay, that definitely put a damper on Puck’s plan, but that doesn’t mean he was totally screwed. After all, he didn’t have to partner up with Finn. He could partner up with anyone else. Granted, the couples were most definitely going to want to team up together, but that left plenty of other single people to work with. His plan seemed to be back on track when Mr. Schue said, “And in order to keep everything fair, I’ve already paired everyone up.”

_Well shit,_ Puck thought as his heart dropped. One by one, Mr. Schue went down the list of partners and Puck silently prayed to Jewish God that he didn’t get paired with Finn. If he did, there was no way Puck would be able to keep it a secret. Finn might not be a sharpest knife in the draw, but he would’ve been able to figure it out. He had made it through the pairings of Brittany and Mike, who were probably going to come up with a killer dance number. Joe and Santana, that probably wasn’t going to go well. Quinn and Artie and then Sam and Blaine after that. Halfway through the list, Mr. Schue announced, “Finn and Puck, you two are going to be duet partners.”

Yep, Puck was definitely screwed now. It was going to be blatantly obvious that Finn was the one singing to. Puck knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t be able to look away from Finn while he was singing. Despite the fact that Puck was freaking out on the inside, he was somehow able to keep his composure cool. He looked over to Finn and offered him a quick smile. Finn, on the other hand, just looked panicked and that caused a wave of anxiety to rush over Puck. Did Finn somehow already know? There was only one thing that was certain: Puck wanted to strangle Mr. Schue. 

If Finn did somehow figure out that Puck liked him for whatever reason, he didn’t mention it. Somehow, that made it way worse for Puck. If Finn did know and just wasn’t saying anything, that most likely meant that Puck didn’t feel the same way and was just trying to let Finn down gently. At the same time, how was Puck supposed to know if Finn didn’t say anything? It is also entirely possible that Finn didn’t know. It was the uncertainty of everything that kept Puck on edge. Part of him wanted to just ask Finn about it, but he just couldn’t bring himself too. Instead, he just felt the horrible uncertainty alone and carried on with rehearsing like nothing was wrong. 

Puck and Finn ended up choosing the song “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran for their assignment. The two of them both agreed that it was the perfect song to perform. It was all about being in love with someone and needing their love back, but not receiving it. Plus, Puck could play it on guitar which gave them a leg up. Some of the lyrics hit a little too close to home for Puck, but that was his cross to bare. 

They were performing on Friday, so they met up everyday at Puck’s house after glee club to practice. For the most part, rehearsals went pretty much the same as usual between Puck and Finn. They would goof off and joke around with each other for a little bit before actually starting to practice the song. Goofing off with Finn was always Puck’s favorite part of the rehearsal process. It made Puck feel like all his problems didn’t matter. He could just have fun with Finn, and Finn alway kept him laughing. When it came time to actually rehearse the song, that’s when the mood would shift. It would become a lot more serious. It almost felt like there was a heavyweight in the air. For the most part, they actually sounded pretty good. Their voices actually sounded great together. Despite this, Puck could tell there was something off with Finn. It wasn’t like Finn was being difficult, quite the opposite. In fact, he actually seemed pretty excited about the song when they were arranging it. However, when they actually started singing, Puck would notice Finn’s demeanor change. His face would go serious to the point where he had an almost pained expression. There was also a touch of sadness in his voice when he sang his lines, and Puck couldn’t figure it out why. 

The night before they were scheduled to perform, Puck finally decided to ask Finn about it. Finn had just finished singing the lyrics when Puck had stopped playing. 

_And it's been a while but I still feel the same_

_Maybe I should let you go_

The song wasn’t over after that, so Finn was confused when Puck had stopped playing. Finn raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why’d you stop?”

“What’s going on with you, Finn?” Puck asked bluntly. 

“What do you mean?” Finn asked, although his voice sounded frantic, “I’m perfectly fine.”

“C’mon man, don’t give me that crap. I know that’s a lie,” Puck insisted, “You like you want to puke everytime you sing a line.”

Finn sighed before saying, “I’m just nervous about this performance tomorrow.”

“How come?” Puck asked, “You don’t usually get nervous to perform.”

Finn shook his head, “No reason. Well, there is a reason but it’s stupid.”

“Dude, I’m sure it’s not stupid. Just talk to me. I swear I won’t laugh,” Puck insisted kindly.

“Okay, okay,” Finn said, once again taking a deep breath before saying, “So there’s someone in glee that I like. Well, not like, it’s way stronger than that. I’m actually pretty sure I’m in love with them. And I don’t want to say who it is, but I’m really worried about singing this song in front of them. It’s embarrassing.”

When Finn said this, Puck had to do everything in his power to hide the fact that his heart had just shattered. Finn liked someone else, someone else that Puck knew, someone else who was in glee club with them. Puck should’ve known. Just because Finn was bi doesn’t necessarily mean he was ready to date a guy. He was probably still in love with Rachel for whatever reason. Puck didn’t have a prayer. It felt like the ground was crumbling around him and that he was falling into a deep, dark abyss. Despite the fact that Finn had unknowingly crushed Puck’s heart, Puck still put a hand on Finn’s shoulder and said, “That’s not embarrassing at all. You can’t help how you feel.”

“I just-the idea of singing that song for them with the whole glee club watching is really freaking me out,” Finn explained, “I mean, it’s not the first time I’ve sang a love song in front of them, but there’s just something about this song. What if they find out I’m singing to them?”

“That might be a good thing, though. At least that way your feelings are out there. It’ll be a weight lifted off your shoulders,” Puck told him, “If anything, you should just look right at whoever it is, sing to them only. That way, at least they know how you feel.”

Puck didn’t understand why he was doing this, why he was giving advice to Finn about this mystery person he was in love with. It didn’t make any sense. Puck wanted to be the one that Finn was thinking about, the one that Finn would be singing to, the one that Finn loved. That was only a pipe dream, though. It was stupid to think that Puck had any chance of being with Finn. Finn was so sweet and caring and good, and Puck was nothing but a punk. Finn deserved someone way better than Puck, and that was probably why Puck was trying to help Finn. 

“But what if they don’t feel the same way,” Finn asked worriedly. 

“Well then that’s that’s their loss,” Puck told them, giving them a small smile, “The point is that you at least have to let them know. If you don’t, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

Finn chuckled before joking, “Good luck with that, I’d totally be able to fight you off.”

“Oh yeah?” Puck questioned, raising an eyebrow at him, “You wanna prove it?”

Finn then charged at Puck and the two of them started to play wrestle. The two of them were rolling around on Puck’s floor and laughing with each other. In that moment, Puck was having so much fun that he almost forgot that his heart was broken. 

When Puck woke up the next morning, it felt like there was a sack of bricks resting on his heart. Today was the day. It was the day Puck was going to be singing a love duet with Finn. The problem was that Puck was going to be singing it to Finn while Finn was going to be singing it to someone else. The stomach churning, gut wrenching, knife in the heart feeling was something he’s only felt twice in his life: when he realized that his dad wasn’t coming back and when he found out that Quinn was pregnant. Puck didn’t know when exactly he had become such a wuss, but he couldn’t really be bothered to care. 

The more he thought about the advice he gave Finn the night before, the more he regretted it. He was really stupid enough to tell Finn that he should sing to the person he was in love with. That meant that Puck would have to watch Finn stare longingly and lovingly at whoever the person was instead of the pained expression he had while singing with Puck. That was a special kind of torture. 

On second thought, Puck realized that it might actually not be so bad. At least that way, he could figure out who exactly it was that Finn was in love with, and probably scare them off somehow. If it was one of the guys, he could probably knock some sense into them. He knew that was wrong. He knew that the reason he gave Finn that advice in the first place was because he knew that Finn deserved someone better than Puck. But ultimately, Puck wasn’t sure if he was a good enough person to follow through with that. 

That entire day at school, Puck sported what seemed like a permanent scowl and shot death glares at pretty much anyone who dared look at him. The only person who he was able to show anything close to a smile for was, of course, Finn. Puck wanted nothing more than for the glee club meeting to arrive so he could just get the song over with. 

When the glee meeting finally came around, Puck and Finn sat next to each other as Rachel and Kurt sang their rendition of “As Long As You're Mine” from _Wicked._ While they sounded good, Kurt looked like he would’ve rather stuck his own head in a toilet bowl and drowned himself than sing that song with Rachel, who’s over acting was painful to watch. All the while, Puck was scanning the choir room to try to figure out who exactly it was Finn had heart eyes for, but didn’t really come up with anything. However, he did notice Finn ringing his hands together nervously while bouncing his leg frantically. It was a nervous habit that Finn had from a young age that Puck eventually picked up on as well. Finn’s leg bouncing eventually got so bad that Puck had to put a hand on Finn’s knee and whisper to him, “Relax. It’s all gonna be fine. When you lock eyes with that person, everything’s gonna fall into place.”

“I hope you’re right,” Finn whispered back. 

“Of course I am,” Puck responded, “I’m always right.”

Finn chuckled quietly at that before quickly placed his hand on top of Puck’s on his knee. That totally didn’t make Pucks heart do a backflip. He was too much of a badass for that. 

Once Kurt and Rachel were finished, everyone clapped. Mr Schue told them, “Wow! Great job you two! That was amazing!”

“It would’ve been even better if Finn and Noah hadn’t been whispering the entire time,” Rachel said bitterly as she sat down. 

Puck groaned in annoyance, “I told you a million times to call me Noah.”

“And we weren’t whispering the entire time,” Finn added. 

“Alright Puck, Finn, you guys are up,” Mr. Schue said, “Although, that is a pretty tough act to follow.”

Puck rolled his eyes at Mr. Schue’s clear favoritism while Finn just affectionately patted Puck on the shoulder and said, “Don’t sweat it Mr. Schue. We’re gonna blow everyone out of the water.”

Finn and Puck then smiled at each other as everyone else “ooo”-ed at Finn’s bold statement. After grabbing his guitar, Puck stood up and joined Finn in front of the rest of the glee club. Puck took a deep breath, trying to steady his heartbeat and tried to stop his hands from shaking in order to play his guitar. He took one last look at Finn, who had his hands in his pockets and was staring down at his feet, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Before he had the chance to chicken out, because he’s a badass and doesn’t do that, Puck played the opening chords before starting to sing. 

_Give me love like hers_

_'Cause lately I've been waking up alone_

_Paint splattered teardrops on my shirt_

_Told you I'd let them go_

The entire time he sang that verse, Puck only looked at Finn, not even bothering to look at anyone else. He wanted to see where Finn’s eyes drifted to when he started singing. So imagine Puck’s shock when Finn started his lines, and slowly led his gaze up from the flow over to Puck. 

_And that I'll fight my corner_

_Maybe tonight I'll call ya_

_After my blood turns into alcohol_

_No, I just wanna hold ya_

When Puck saw Finn looking at him with longing and fondness in his eyes, Puck almost froze right then and there. There was no way. It wasn’t possible. There was no way it was really Puck who Finn had been talking about last night. It didn’t make sense. Why would Finn love Puck back? Somehow, Puck had managed to keep playing as the two of them joined each other at the chorus, eyes locked. 

_Give a little time to me or burn this out_

_We'll play hide and seek to turn this around_

_All I want is the taste that your lips allow_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

As Finn began to sing the second verse, the two of them slowly started to slowly circle around each other, still not breaking eye contact. Puck couldn’t imagine looking away when Finn was looking at him the way he was. He was looking at Puck like he was the most important thing on the planet. The sadness and longing in Finn’s voice was still there as he sang, but now it made more sense where exactly it came from. Finn was singing about Puck. Finn was singing for Puck. 

_Give me love like never before_

_'Cause lately I've been craving more_

_And it's been a while but I still feel the same_

_Maybe I should let you go_

Puck felt himself slowly getting lost in the music as he looked at Finn. Of course, Puck thought that Finn always looked great, but something about Finn singing made him absolutely breathtaking. The world seemed to fade to black as Puck continued the song. 

_You know I'll fight my corner_

_And that tonight I'll call ya_

_After my blood is drowning in alcohol_

_No I just wanna hold ya_

By the time they returned to the chorus, they had stopped going in circles and just stood on opposite sides of the room as they sang their hearts out to each other. 

_Give a little time to me or burn this out_

_We'll play hide and seek to turn this around_

_All I want is the taste that your lips allow_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_Give a little time to me, or burn this out_

_We'll play hide and seek to turn this around_

_All I want is the taste that your lips allow_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My my, my, my, oh give me love_

When they reached the bridge, Puck slowly started to step forward towards Finn. Although, if you asked Puck, it felt more like he was floating, like he was being pulled closer to Finn. 

_M-my my, m-my my, m-my my, give me love, lover_

_M-my my, m-my my, m-my my, give me love, lover_

_M-my my, m-my my, m-my my, give me love, lover_

_M-my my, m-my my, m-my my, give me love, lover_

Much to Puck’s pleasant surprise, Finn started to walk towards Puck as well until they met in the middle. 

_M-my my, m-my my, m-my my, give me love, lover_

_M-my my, m-my my, m-my my, give me love, lover_

_M-my my, m-my my, m-my my, give me love, lover_

_M-my my, m-my my, m-my my, give me love, lover_

Puck continued to strum his guitar as he belted out. 

_Give me love_

Finn then belted out the same words, sounding almost desperate. 

_Give me love_

Puck then sang out once again, matching Finn’s voice in desperation. 

_Give me love_

The two of them then joined each other as they both belted out in perfect harmony. 

_Give me love (Oh)_

The song was slowly coming to an end, but Puck and Finn still walked closer so that they were only a few inches away from each other, barely leaving enough space for Puck to play his guitar. They were practically lost in each other as they finished the song. 

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love_

Once the song was done, Finn and Puck continued to stare at each other for a few seconds, looking almost in awe of each other. Puck was only snapped out of his trance when people started cheering for them. It was only then that Puck realized that his feet were still firmly planted on the ground, and he hadn’t actually been floating. Before he had the chance to say anything to Finn, Mr. Schue said to them, “Puck, Finn, that was incredible! I mean, truly fantastic! The emotion was so raw, it really felt like you guys were in love.”

The look in Finn’s eyes seemed like he was desperate for some sort of privacy, so Puck simply asked, “Mr. Schue, can Finn and I be excused?”

“Uh, yeah sure, go ahead,” Mr. Schue answered, sounding confused. 

Finn and Puck nodded at each other before walking out of the classroom, Puck’s guitar still in hand. They didn’t even have to say where they were going, they just knew. Once they were in the locker room, Puck gently put his guitar down before saying awkwardly, “Well, that was...intense.”

“Yeah, it was,” Finn responded, “Intense in a good way, though.”

Puck sighed before deciding to just rip the band aid off, “Finn, do you love me?”

It was straightforward and blunt, but that was just the way Puck rolled. It was also the best way to get all of this sorted out because Puck felt like he was going to go crazy otherwise. 

Finn opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking almost like a fish. Eventually he just looked Puck directly in the eyes and answered, “Yes, I do.”

There was no way to possibly describe how Puck felt when he heard that other than...bright. It was like a light went on inside of Puck, and it felt incredible. Finn loved him back. 

“I-I realized when I was dating Rachel. Whenever I was with her, I felt like I couldn’t completely give myself to her. At first I didn’t know what it was, but then I realized it was cause I was in love with you,” Finn explained, “That’s why I broke up with her. It’s why I was so freaked out about singing this song for you. I was so scared that you were going to find out and be totally weirded out and never want to talk to me again…”

“Finn, I love you too,” Puck told him, effectively cutting Finn’s rambling off. 

The look on Finn’s face when Puck said that could only be described as pure shock. After a few seconds though, a small hopeful smile spread across Finn’s face as he asked, “Really?”

“Yes, really. I love you, Finn,” Puck answered, smiling as well, “I have for a while. I’ve just been trying to ignore those feelings, but obviously I’m not doing that anymore.”

Finn chuckled a little at that, blush rising in his cheeks, before saying, “Cool.”

“Just cool?” Puck asked with a raised eyebrow, although there was laughter in his voice. 

“No, no, no, it's way better than just cool. It’s awesome actually,” Finn said excitedly, still smiling and blushing, “So wait...does this mean we’re...dating now?”

Up until that moment, Puck felt he was on a bit of a high, but now he was coming back down. That was a pretty serious question. Are him and Finn dating? It made sense. After all, Puck loved Finn and Finn loved him. Puck had spent so many lonely nights dreaming about what it would be like to date Finn, to hold his hand, to kiss him. It was everything that Puck had wanted, and now it was all right in front of him. Still, there was something holding him back. Fear. 

What would people think? How would people react? What would they tell everyone? How would it affect their football careers? How would it affect the glee club? All of that terrified Puck. Finn would be Puck’s first boyfriend, and he had no idea what that intaled. Still, Puck was never one to let fear get in his way, and he certainly wasn’t going to let it get in the way of him and Finn. He loved Finn too much to let it. If anyone was worth fighting his fears for, it was Finn. Finn was definitely worth it. 

“I want to, Finn. I really, really want too,” Puck finally answered. 

When Puck said that, Finn’s optimistic smile dropped to a look of worry as he asked, “But?”

“It’s just that I’ve never been in a relationship with a guy before, and I assume you haven’t either,” Puck explained before asking, “Have you?”

Finn shook his head no, and Puck took that as his cue to continue, “I definitely want to be with you, it’s just that this is uncharted territory for both of us. Could we maybe just, take things slow?”

Once Puck said that, Finn’s happy smile once again and he answered, “Yeah, yeah we can definitely take things slow.”

“Cool,” Puck responded, smiling brightly, “Well actually, better than cool. Awesome.”

Both boys chuckled at that before Finn asked, “So do you want to maybe go to Breadstix tonight? Just kind of talk about everything?”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Puck answered, unable to stop himself from smiling.

Once Puck said that, Finn did something that Puck wasn’t expecting. Finn closed the distance in between them and hugged him. It wasn’t one of their usual bro hugs, but an actual, loving hug. Puck paused for a moment before wrapping his arms around Finn and returning the hug. It was nice being able to hug Finn like this. The hug was gentle,warm, and cozy. It made Puck feel wanted and loved. Puck whispered to Finn, “I love you.”

For a split second, Puck wondered if saying that to Finn went against the whole “going slow” thing, but ultimately decided that it wasn’t. After all, the two of them had already admitted that they love each other. It was already out in the open, so he figured that it was fine to say. Puck’s thoughts were confirmed when Finn whispered back, “I love you too.”

“I’ll see you tonight,” Finn said as he pulled away from the hug. 

Finn then pressed a gentle kiss to Puck’s forehead before leaving the locker room. Puck’s heart definitely didn’t flutter when Finn did that. 

That night at Breadstix, the two boys were laughing with each other as they enjoyed their food. At one point, Puck said to Finn, “Alright, very important question.”

“What is it?” Finn asked curiously. 

Puck smirked a little as he asked, “When did you first start to like me?”

Finn laughed nervously for a second before blushing and answering, “Uhh well, when everything happened with Quinn sophomore year, and you and I weren’t talking, I really missed you. As mad as I was at you, I missed being with you everyday. When we finally made up, it felt like I was...complete again. You literally did everything you could to make it up to me, and I could tell that you were really sorry for everything. Having your friendship back made me realize that I didn’t want to lose you again. Then, I would steal little glances at you when you weren’t looking and that made me realize that the feelings were definitely stronger than just friends. Whenever you would sing a love song in glee club, I used to pretend that you were singing to me. Plus, when I saw _West Side Story_ , you were really, really hot as Bernardo. So yeah, that’s how I realized.”

Puck was sure that he was grinning like an idiot at that point, but he was too happy to care. That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to him. Finn must have misread Puck’s silence though because he asked, “Is that totally cheesy?”

“Just a little cheesy, but it’s really sweet,” Puck told him, “Plus, I can’t blame you. The Puckerman musk just has that effect on people.”

Finn rolled his eyes a little but still laughed as he asked, “Okay Puckerman, what about you? When did you realize that you liked me?”

“Ah, calling me out I see,” Puck commented before answering, “I don’t know, cause the feelings have honestly been there for a long time, but I was in denial about them until they got so strong I couldn’t ignore them. If I had to guess, it was probably after I made out with Rachel. It ended pretty quick because the whole time I was just thinking about you and about how I couldn’t stand to hurt you again. That was kind of the tipping point because it made me realize that everything with her and Quinn wasn’t really about wanting to be with them, it was about me not wanting them to be with you. Which is totally selfish and messed up, I know, but I was a total asshole back then. I’m still kind of an asshole, but that’s not the point. The point is that after that I was kind of forced to confront my feelings. And then at the conference game junior year, when we won, you were so excited and happy and you just looked...so freaking cute that it kind of made my heart stop a little. That’s what really made me realize that I probably wasn’t as straight as I thought I was.”

“So it wasn’t Chris Evans?” Finn asked jokingly, although his cheeks were bright red. 

“Maybe a little bit of Chris Evans, but mostly you,” Puck answered jokingly. 

Finn laughed, tips of his ears turning red, as he mumbled, “Thanks.”

Puck quickly decided that he’d never get tired of seeing Finn blush. He looked way too cute when he blushed. Finn then asked, “So what’s the game plan for you and I? I’m totally on board with going slow, but what exactly did you have in mind?”

“Well, I definitely want to date you, but just kind of keep it on the down low,” Puck explained, “Not too much PDA, a couple of date nights a week, just kind of give us a chance to really figure out what we are and aren’t comfortable with. You know, baby steps or some crap like that.”

“That works for me,” Finn responded before asking, “So what do you want to do about telling people?”

“Well it depends on who you're comfortable with telling,” Puck answered. 

Finn nodded before saying, “Well, I definitely think we should keep a secret from the football team, at least at the beginning. I’d probably want to tell Coach Beiste eventually, though. She’d definitely be cool about it. As far as glee club goes, we should definitely tell them eventually, just not right away. Not that we have to keep it a secret necessarily. If anyone figures it out, we can tell them, but otherwise I don’t see the need to make a big deal out of it.”

“Rachel will probably be the first to figure it out. She’s like, scary observant when it comes to you,” Puck commented, “But I definitely like that plan.”

Finn chuckled a little before saying, “Perfect. Anything else you can think of?”

Puck thought about it for a moment before answering, “Yeah, I want to wait to kiss you. I won’t keep you waiting forever. I just...want to make sure the moment’s perfect.”

“Are you going soft on me, Puckerman?” Finn asked with a teasing smirk. 

Puck smirked back at him and said, “You tell anyone and I’ll kick your ass.”

Finn and Puck both laughed at that before Puck reached across the table and held Finn’s hand in his. When he did this, Puck couldn’t help but feel a slight spark of electricity between their two hands. Finn smiled down at their joined hands as he said in a flustered voice, “I thought you said no PDA.”

“I said not too much PDA,” Puck corrected, “I’m cool with this if you are.”

“I’m definitely cool with this,” Finn responded, a goofy smile on his face, “So does this mean we’re officially boyfriends?”

“Yep, we’re officially boyfriends,” Puck answered, “This is like...confirmed gay.”

“This is definitely confirmed gay,” Finn responded. 

There was something else that was on Puck’s mind. He was still thinking about how Finn had kissed him on the forehead earlier. The kiss was so soft and gentle and it caused a warm, giddy feeling to blossom in Puck’s stomach when Finn did it. He wanted to return the favor; wanted to give Finn that same warm, giddy feeling. Puck carefully lifted Finn’s hand and gently kissed it. When Puck looked up and saw Finn smiling brightly with his cheeks bright red, he knew that Finn had that warm, giddy feeling. 

It was a surprisingly easy transition for Finn and Puck to go from best friends to boyfriends. Puck was expecting it to be at least a little bit awkward for him and Finn to navigate this new relationship, but it honestly surprised him how natural it was. The two of them still went to football practice, went to glee club meetings, and hung out together. The only thing that really changed between the two of them was that the two of them didn’t have to hide their feelings from each other anymore. They could steal little glances at each other whenever they wanted, stand a little closer than necessary, and whenever they were alone, they could cuddle up with one another and just enjoy each other’s company. In those moments, Puck felt impossibly happy. For the longest time, Puck wanted nothing more than to be able to wrap his arms around Finn and hold him close, and now he finally had it. Whenever the two of them would cuddle, they would exchange kisses on the cheek, forehead, and hand, but never on the lips. Of course, Puck would be tempted to kiss Finn for real in those moments, but he never did. He wanted the moment they did kiss for real to be extra special. Contrary to popular belief, Puck was a secret romantic, and he was going to make sure that his first kiss with Finn was the most romantic first kiss that either of them ever had. 

The first person to catch onto the boys was Coach Beiste about three weeks into them dating. In a weird way, Finn and Puck’s new relationship actually strengthened their partnership on the football field. They were playing the best that they had ever been, and it helped lead the team to a conference championship game that was scheduled to be played in just a few weeks. Apparently Coach Beiste caught onto this, because she decided to pay Finn and Puck her compliments after practice one Friday. 

Puck had been putting his gear away in the locker room when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. He instantly smiled, knowing that it was Finn. They were the last two guys in the locker room, so they could be as affectionate as they wanted to be. Finn said to Puck in a quiet voice, “Hi.”

“Hey there,” Puck responded, straining his neck a little to look at Finn, “What’s going on with you?”

“Do you wanna go to the movies tonight?” Finn asked, “The new _Pirates of the Caribbean_ just came out.”

That suggestion made Puck smile. _Pirates of the Caribbean_ was their favorite movie series of all time, besides maybe _Star Wars._ The two of them had seen the first one in theaters when they were kids, and had made a tradition of going to the movies together whenever a new one came out. On Christmas one year, Finn had gotten the complete DVD set, and he and Puck had spent New Years Eve that year watching the entire movie series in Puck’s basement. The fact that his was the first _Pirates of the Caribbean_ with them as boyfriends wasn’t lost on Puck, and it made his heart flutter a little. 

Puck turned around in Finn’s arms and answered, “I’d love too. I’m paying though.”

“But…” Finn started to protest. 

“No buts, I’m paying,” Puck said, cutting him off, “What kind of badass would I be if I let my man pay?”

Finn chuckled at that before giving Puck a quick peck on the cheek, causing Puck to sigh happily a little. When they heard the door to the locker room open, the two boys broke apart from each other in a small panic. But when they saw that it was Coach Beiste, both of them relaxed a little. 

Coach Beiste smiled at the two and said, “Oh good, you guys are still here.”

“Yeah, we just had some stuff to take care of,” Puck told her, while also giving Finn a knowing look. 

Finn then asked, “Did you need to talk to us, Coach?”

“I just wanted to congratulate the two of you. You guys are doing amazing this season,” Coach said, “Especially together, I don’t know what your secret is, but you guys have gotten a lot better at communicating on the field. I mean, your communication is pretty much flawless.”

“Yeah, well Finn and I have gotten a lot closer this year,” Puck said, smirking a little at Finn who looked like he was holding back laughter. 

Coach smiled at that, “Well keep doing whatever it is you’re doing and we’ll definitely be taking home the conference championship.”

“Thanks Coach,” Puck said with a bright smile. 

“Of course,” Coach Beiste responded, “Now run along you two. I won’t hold you up anymore.”

“Thanks Coach,” Finn said to her before turning to Puck and saying, “I’ll see you later, Puck.”

“See you tonight,” Puck responded as Finn left the locker room. 

Puck finished putting his stuff away in his locker before slamming in shut and walking towards the door. Before he actually left though, Coach Beiste stopped him by saying, “Puckerman, hold on a sec.”

“What’s going on?” Puck asked, trying to sound casual and not show how nervous he was. Did he do something without even realizing it?

Coach nodded at the door and asked, “You and Hudson, are two going out?”

“How did you know?” Puck question, feeling a little surprised that she had caught on so quick. 

Coach gave Puck a knowing smile, “I saw the way you two were looking at each other.” 

Puck couldn’t help but smile as he answered, “Yeah, we are.”

In all honesty, Puck felt really relieved when Coach asked that. It felt nice to finally tell someone, even if it was just one person. He was even more relieved when Coach’s smile grew bigger as she said, “That’s great. How long has this been going on?”

“A few weeks,” Puck explained, “We’re kind of trying to take things slow, though. Not a lot of people know yet.”

He didn’t tell Coach that she was actually the first person to know, but she seemed to catch on. She nodded before asking, “Are you happy, pumpkin?”

“Definitely,” Puck answered, still smiling. 

Coach then asked, “You really care about him, don’t you?”

“I love him,” Puck responded, “More than anyone.”

Coach Beiste nodded and smiled at his words before telling him, “That’s wonderful, pumpkin. I’m glad you two are happy. Just be good to each other, okay? Finn’s a good kid, real keeper. You better treat him right.”

“I will, Coach,” Puck ressaured her, grateful for the almost parental guidance she was giving him. 

“Good,” Coach said, patting Puck on the shoulder, “Now go have fun with your boyfriend. I’ll see you at practice on Monday.”

“Thanks Coach, see you on Monday,” Puck responded before leaving the locker room. 

As he walked out of the locker room, Puck felt just a little bit lighter, like there was a weight lifted off of his shoulders. He had just told one person about him and Finn, and it couldn’t have gone any better. It gave him a little bit of hope and confidence about potentially telling other people. 

That night at the theater after he and Finn grabbed their snacks, Puck told his boyfriend, “I told Coach Beiste about us.”

“Really?” Finn asked, sounding a little bit worried. 

“Yeah, but only after she asked me about it,” Puck explained, “She caught onto us, said something about seeing the way we looked at each other.”

“Well what did she say after you told her?” Finn questioned. 

“She was really cool about it, she just asked how long we’ve been dating and said that she's really happy for the two of us,” Puck told him, “She also told me to take care of you, said something about you being a keeper.”

“Well, she’s certainly right about that last part,” Finn said, smirking a little. 

Puck rolled his eyes good naturedly and jokingly asked, “That’s a little cocky, don’t you think?”

“That’s a little ironic coming from you Puckerman, don’t you think?” Finn quipped back, smirking at him. 

Puck chuckled a little before confessing, “Touché.”

“Finn! Puck!” A familiar voice called from behind them. 

The two boys turned around two see Mike Chang and Tina holding hands and walking towards them as they waved at the two boys. Finn and Puck both smiled and waved back. Once they were close enough, Finn said to Tina and Mike, “Hey guys, what are you doing here?”

“Tina wanted to see the new _Twilight_ movie,” Mike explained, sounding slightly bummed about it, before asking, “What about you guys?”

Finn looked over at Puck and stuttered out, “Uhh…” 

“We’re going to see the new _Pirates of the Caribbean,_ ” Puck offered, “They're some of our favorite movies.”

“Yeah, Puck and I watched them all the time together when we were growing up,” Finn added, “We kind of have a tradition to go see the new one together whenever it comes out.”

Tina smiled at that as she said, “Aww stop, that’s adorable!”

Puck and Finn exchanged a quick smile before Finn told the other couple, “Well, the movie is going to start soon, so we better get going. We’ll see you two at school on Monday, have fun at your movie.”

“Thanks, you guys two,” Mike responded, offering his friends and football teammates one more wave. 

Finn and Puck then turned around and began walking to the theater where their movie was playing, Puck barely realizing that his hand was on the small of Finn’s back. 

Throughout the entire movie, Finn rested his head on Puck’s shoulder and Puck had his arm around Finn’s shoulders. It was only the two of them in the theater, and they were in the back row, so there was no chance of anyone seeing them. Therefore, they could be as cuddly as they wanted. It was still strange getting used to cuddling with Finn like this, but it was a nice kind of strange. There was an odd feeling of intimacy between the two of them whenever they cuddled. It was the feeling of being so familiar with something, but getting to experience it from a different perspective. It was similar to the difference between seeing a musical and actually performing in it. Puck definitely enjoyed being able to explore this new side of his relationship with Finn, especially when Finn would lift his head off of Puck’s shoulder just enough to kiss him on the cheek. 

When they were walking out of the theater, hands joined, Finn said to Puck, “That was really good.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t fall asleep on me during it,” Puck joked, “You were practically using me as a pillow the entire time.”

“I can’t help it. You’re comfy,” Finn told him with laughter in his voice. 

Puck responded, “Hey, I’m certainly not complaining.”

“Good,” Finn said, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek. 

When Finn did that, Puck tried not to pay attention to the people looking at him and Finn. Despite this, Puck couldn’t help but notice some of the second glances that people gave the two of them. At first, Puck felt embarrassed, but then that feeling was replaced with a feeling of shame. He felt ashamed that he felt embarrassed. He had nothing to be embarrassed by. After all, it wasn’t like he was ever going to see any of those people again. 

That Monday during glee practice, Puck and Finn were the first two in the choir room, and immediately got seats next to each other. Once they sat down, Puck put his arm around the back of Finn’s chair. It was an action that was subtle enough that probably no one would notice, but still gave Finn and Puck the intimacy they desired. Puck asked, “What do you think this week’s assignment is gonna be?”

“Well, sectionals are coming up, so we’re probably going to start brainstorming ideas” Finn answered, “I just hope it’s not anymore love songs, we’ve been doing nothing but love songs lately.”

“You don’t wanna serenade me?” Puck asked sarcastically with a fake pout. 

Finn chuckled and said, “I serenade you plenty.” 

“But I like it when you sing for me,” Puck told him, still pouting in an over exaggerated fashion. 

Finn rolled his eyes before caving and telling his boyfriend, “In that case, I’ll sing for you, but you’re going to have to wait until after glee and football.”

“Thank you, Finny,” Puck said teasingly before pressing a million rapid fire kisses to Finn’s cheek. 

Finn laughed at Puck’s over dramatic behavior and tried to push him off, “Okay, okay, Puck. You can stop now.”

“But I just love you so much,” Puck responded, clearly still teasing Finn, before continuing to kiss Finn’s cheek. 

Finn once again started laughing and said, “I get it. I get it. You love me. I love you too. Now that we’ve established that, can you please stop?”

“Fine,” Puck said, sighing over dramatically before pressing one last kiss to Finn’s cheek. 

As it turned out, Puck stopped at just the right time because a few seconds after he stopped, Mike and Tina walked in. Puck smiled at the two of them and greeted, “Hey guys.”

“Oh good, you guys are here,” Mike said as he and Tina sat down. 

Puck and Finn exchanged a confused look before Finn said, “Yeah, what’s going on?”

“Well, when Mike and I got out of our movie on Friday night, we saw you two holding hands when you were walking out,” Tina explained, “We don’t mean to pry, but we were just wondering if you guys...well if you guys are a thing?”

When Tina asked that, Puck and Finn exchanged surprised looks. Puck figured that they really shouldn’t be that surprised. After all, they definitely weren’t trying to hide on Friday night, and they both knew that Tina and Mike were there. Of course, Finn and Puck had agreed that if anyone caught onto the two of them dating, they would tell them. Puck nodded at Finn, and Finn nodded back at him before saying, “Yeah, Puck and I are dating.”

Tina gasped in pleasant surprise while Mike’s mouth fell open into an “O” shape. Mike then asked, “Yo, seriously?”

Both Finn and Puck chuckled at Mike’s response before Puck answered, “Yeah seriously.”

To emphasize the point, Puck gently grabbed Finn’s hand and held it in his. Tina squealed a little before saying, “Oh my goodness, that’s so sweet! When did you guys start dating?”

“A couple of weeks ago,” Finn responded, “Right around the time we did our “Give Me Love” duet.”

“Dang, that duet makes a lot more sense now,” Mike commented as he pulled out a notebook from his backpack, “Good for you guys. You look really happy.”

“We are,” Finn said, smiling goofily. 

Puck smiled as well as he nodded, “Definitely.”

“So wait, does anyone else in Glee club know yet?” Tina then asked curiously. 

Finn shook his head, “Not yet no. We didn’t really want to make it a spectacle.”

Tina nodded at that, “Totally. Well, don’t worry about Mike and I. Our lips are sealed until you guys are ready to tell everyone else.”

“Thanks Tina,” Puck said. 

Mike, who had been writing in his notebook while Tina was speaking, then spoke up, “Alright, so I came up with two potiental ship names for you guys, but the first one isn’t the most family-friendly, so I think we should go with Pinn.”

When Mike said this, the other three all started laughing hysterically as they pieced together what the first ship name was. Once they had composed themselves a little, Puck said, “I don’t know, I kind of like the non family-friendly option.”

“I like Pinn, though. What do you think?” Finn asked Puck. 

“Works for me,” Puck answered, “It’s a hell of a lot better than Puckelberry.”

Finn chuckled at that before giving Puck a quick kiss on the cheek. As more of the glee club started to file into the classroom, Puck once again placed his arm on the back of Finn’s chair. While Mike and Tina both gave the couple knowing grins, no one else really took notice. That is, no one else besides Rachel, who kept giving Puck icy looks. 

Once the glee club meeting was over, Finn, Puck, Mike, and Sam had to book it out the door to get to football practice on time. While Coach Beiste was understanding about their commitments to glee club, the upcoming championship game called for more practices. Puck was expecting a rather uneventful practice, but that unfortunately didn’t happen. When Puck was in the locker room, he heard someone behind him yell, “Yo, Puckerman!”

He turned around to see that it was Azimio Adams who yelled at him, and Puck couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes. Azimio was one of the stereotypical jocks that walked around the school torturing the glee club kids. He even joined that stupid hecklers club Sue created to try and ruin their benefit last year. Puck and Azimio certainly weren’t friends, and the only thing that kept them from killing each other was the fact that they were both on the football team. 

“What do you want, Adams?” Puck asked in an annoyed tone. 

Adams walked towards Puck while saying, “I saw you and Hudson at the movies on Friday.”

“Wow, thrilling story,” Puck said sarcastically, trying to keep his voice steady and hide the fact that his hands were shaking. 

Azimio then asked in a cold voice, “Do you hold hands with all friends?”

When he said that, Puck froze. He knew that there was no getting out of this. Him and Finn had gotten caught by probably the last person they would want to get caught by. Still, Puck was never one to back down and he certainly wasn’t going to back down now. He warned Azimio, “Piss off.”

“I knew it,” Azimio said cruelly, “Couple years in glee club and then you and Hudson go all fairy. I wonder what the school's gonna think when they find out the quarterback and running back are screwing each other. ”

“I said piss off!” Puck yelled. 

After that, Azimio chuckled, clearly satisfied that he was getting a reaction out of Puck. He then said in a taunting tone, “

“Leave Finn out of this,” Puck warned. 

“Aww, isn’t that sweet? Puck’s defending his man,” Azimio taunted, “Aren’t you two just the cutest couples of queers…”

He didn’t get to finish that sentence because Puck slammed him into the locker and said in a low dark voice, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep my and Finn’s name out of your mouth.”

As much as it annoyed him, Puck could handle whatever Azimio. He’s been called every kind of name at least ten times over. The fact that he had the audacity to bring up Finn is what set him off. No one was going to mess with Finn on Puck’s watch. 

Speaking of the devil, Finn came storming over and asked in an angry and confused voice, “What the hell is going on?”

“Adams thought it’d be a good idea to run his mouth,” Puck answered. 

Finn then put a hand on Puck’s shoulder and said, “Puck, stop please. He’s not worth it. Let’s just get out of here.”

“Yeah Puck, go run off to fairyland with…” Azimio started to say. 

That was all Azimio got to say before Puck decked him. Before things could escalate any further though, Finn grabbed Puck’s arm and dragged him out of the locker room. Finn then led Puck into the choir room, where Puck flipped a chair over immediately upon it entering. Finn then asked Puck, “What the hell was that all about?”

“Azimio saw us at the movies on Friday,” Puck told him bluntly. 

When Puck said that, both the anger and color in Finn’s face drained. The only thing that managed to escape Finn’s mouth was, “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Puck said angrily, “And then he started saying all this crap about you, and I just snapped. I wasn’t about to let him bash you like that. And now the whole school is gonna find out because God knows that dude can’t keep his mouth shut…”

“Hey, hey, hey, Puck take a deep breath, alright? Just c’mhere,” Finn said softly as he pulled Puck into a hug. 

Puck didn’t hesitate to return the hug, and it was only then that he realized he was trembling a little. He was well aware of the fact that he was holding Finn way too tight, but there was no way that he was letting go. Puck whispered to Finn, “I’m gonna kill him.”

“No, you’re not going to kill anyone,” Finn told him, “I know this isn’t how we wanted this to go, but we’ll make it through this together. It’s not going to be easy to have people find out this way, but we’ll find a way.”

Puck was never good at saying “thank you”, so he instead kissed Finn’s cheek and said, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Finn responded, “Come on, let’s get back to practice.”

As they walked out to the football field, Finn had his arm draped around Puck’s shoulders. When they were walking, Puck said to Finn, “I think we should tell the rest of the glee club tomorrow. Iike, make an announcement or something.”

“Are you sure?” Finn questioned, “I know you didn’t want to make a big spectacle out of it.”

Puck shrugged, “They’re all gonna find out anyway. Might as well get ahead of it.”

“Good point,” Finn said, “Well, I’m on board with whatever you want to do.”

“Thanks Finn,” Puck responded, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before they walked out onto the football field. 

Nothing much happened at football practice that was outside of the norm, but Puck knew that everyone on the team was staring at him and Finn. It was never a good feeling to have everyone stare at you, and it made Puck feel itchy and uncomfortable all over his body. He couldn’t wait to get out of there. The second practice was over, Puck stormed off to the locker room, got changed, and gave Finn a quick kiss on the cheek before heading home. Once he got home, Puck went right to sleep, hoping that when he woke up, everything would just be a terrible nightmare. 

The next morning, Puck went straight to Finn’s locker. Once again, he felt a million pairs of eyes on him, but he simply trudged forward to Finn’s locker. He knew that news of him and Finn was probably spreading fast, so he decided to stick by Finn’s side all day. He figured that Finn would need some support today, and, in all honesty, Puck needed the comfort Finn gave him as well. When he got to Finn’s locker, Puck offered his boyfriend a small smile and greeted, “Hey there, Finn.”

He then gently and quickly kissed Finn’s cheek which made Finn’s face light up in pleasant surprise. This was the first time Puck had done that in school. In Puck’s mind, since everyone was going to find out anyway, there was no point in trying to hide anymore. Finn then gently grabbed Puck’s hand in his and said, “Hi, you ready for today?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Puck answered before asking, “How about you?”

“Yeah, I think I am,” Finn responded, “I hope you don’t mind, I told Kurt about us last night.”

“Trust me, I don’t mind,” Puck reassured before asking, “How did he respond?”

“Okay, I guess. He was angry at first about why I didn’t tell him sooner, but then when I explained what happened with Azimio he calmed down. He said that he’s really sorry that happened, and that he supports us hundred percent,” Finn explained, “He then asked if Burt and Mom knew yet, and when I told him no he promised that he wouldn’t say anything and that he was there if I needed help with the whole coming out thing.”

Puck nodded, “That’s good. That means we have his support at glee club today.”

“Yeah, plus Mike and Tina,” Finn added, “Three supporters going into it isn’t too bad.”

“I’d say it’s pretty good,” Puck said, offering Finn a smile. 

Finn smiled back at him and responded, “Yeah, it is.”

Just as Finn closed his locker, Quinn slowly walked up to them with a worried look on her face. It didn’t take a genius to know what that look was about. She said to them in a soft voice, “Hey, you guys.”

“Hey Quinn,” Finn responded. 

“Hi,” Puck said, “Not to sound rude Quinn, but I think I know what this is about.”

Quinn sighed, “Look, I’ve heard all the rumors, and I just have to ask: Are you guys a thing?”

“Yeah, we are,” Puck answered, smiling in spite of himself. As much as the circumstances sucked, Puck couldn’t help but get excited whenever he would tell people that he and Finn were dating. It was a nice reminder that all this was real, that he was really dating Finn. 

“Oh my gosh,” Quinn said, “Guys, I’m so sorry this is happening to you.”

“Don’t be. It’s not an ideal situation, but we’re gonna make the best of it,” Finn reassured her. 

Puck nodded, “Yeah, we’re gonna make an announcement in glee club today, but you kind of caught us ahead of schedule.”

Quinn let out a sad laugh before saying, “Well, that’s good at least. If you guys need anything, you know I’m always right here.”

“Thanks Quinn,” Puck said sincerely. 

Finn added, “Yeah, thanks.”

Quinn then gave both of them quick hugs before telling them, “I’ll see you both at glee club.”

With that, she walked away. Finn and Puck spent the rest of the school day practically glued to the hip, only leaving each other’s sides when they had separate classes. Surprisingly, outside of the obvious stares and glances, people left both of them alone. That is, until lunch when Rachel sat down across from them. Up until the point where she sat down, Puck and Finn had been having a nice conversation with Tina and Mike about their upcoming glee club announcements. However, when Rachel sat down, that nice conversation was disrupted by Rachel announcing, “Noah, Finn, you two have an awful lot of explaining to do.”

Finn raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do we?”

“Yes, you do!” Rachel answered, clearly getting even more annoyed than she already was, “I’ve been hearing rumors circulating all day about the possibility that you two are...dating! And I personally just find that to be absolutely flabbergasting!”

“Why exactly do you think it’s so flabbergasting? Don’t you have two gay dads?” Puck questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Finn then asked, “Also why do you always have to clarify that your two dads are gay? Isn’t that kind of the implication?”

Rachel told them, “It’s flabbergasting because neither one of you are gay! In the three years we’ve been going to this school neither of you have even so much as mentioned the possibility of you being gay!”

“Oh yeah, cause Kurt was totally straight before he came out,” Puck quipped, pointing out the flaws in Rachel’s logic. 

“That’s different,” Rachel insisted. 

Puck then asked, “Why is it different? Because he fit into all the gay stereotypes? Because it meant that you could treat him like your pet or “best gay” or whatever?”

“No! Because neither of you have ever dated a guy in the past,” Rachel argued, “The two of you have only been with girls before. In fact, the two of you both dated me at one point!”

“Santana and Brittany dated both guys before they started dating,” Finn pointed out, “Heck, Santana hooked up with both of us at one point.”

Rachel huffed before saying, “This isn’t about Brittany or Santana or Kurt! This is about the two of you! Just tell me what’s going on!”

“We’re going to tell everyone what’s going on in glee club,” Finn told her, “Until then, just try to calm down a little.”

“First of all, don’t ever tell a woman to calm down!” Rachel snapped, “Second of all, I feel that I have a right to know now!”

Puck asked her, “And why exactly do you think you have the right to know before everyone else?”

“Because I was involved with the both of you at one point, so I feel you two should have enough decency to tell me,” Rachel told them self-righteously. 

“Well, you didn’t really care that much when I was dating Lauren or when Quinn and Finn got back together,” Puck pointed out. 

Rachel let out a cry of frustration before saying, “You know what, forget it! This conversation is just infuriating!”

With that, she grabbed her lunch tray and stormed off. Once she did, Finn sighed in exhaustion and said, “I feel like I just got hit by a tornado.”

As Finn rested his head on Puck’s shoulder, Puck started to gently stroke Finn’s back in an attempt to comfort him. Puck whispered to Finn, “Don’t worry about her. She’s just bitter that now there’s no chance of you and her getting back together.”

“Definitely no chance of that,” Finn responded, the slightest hint of a smile on his face. 

“I’m exhausted from just watching that,” Mike commented before asking, “Are you two okay?”

“I’m fine, I just know her reaction is gonna be way worse in glee club,” Finn said sadly.

Puck quickly kissed Finn on the top of his head before telling him, “We’re in this together, right?”

“Right,” Finn responded, smiling for real this time. 

Tina then spoke up, “And don’t worry. If she starts to diva out, Quinn and I will shut her down.”

Puck and Finn both chuckled at that and Puck said, “We’re probably gonna need that.”

“Yeah, thanks in advance Tina,” Finn added

When glee club finally came around, Puck and Finn were once again sitting next to each other, Puck holding their joined hands in his lap. Everyone gave the two of them curious looks, but didn’t really say anything. That is, of course, until Rachel sat down and said, “Okay, we’re all here now. Go on and make your big announcement!”

“Mr. Schue isn’t here yet,” Finn corrected. 

Rachel then said, “Oh come on, Finn! Stop being difficult!”

“Rachel, I don’t think you’re one to comment on people being difficult,” Tina quipped. 

Puck and Finn both smirked a little when Tina said that while Rachel gasped as if that was the most offensive thing she’s ever heard and said, “That is so rude, Tina!”

“And you pestering Puck and Finn all day isn’t rude?” Tina questioned, “They told you they were going to make an announcement in glee club, so just drop it.”

Everyone looked at Tina in disbelief, surprised by her sudden assertiveness. Except for Mike, who looked rather proud of his girlfriend. When Mr. Schue walked in, he announced, “Alright guys, we’ve got a busy week ahead of us, so let’s get started.”

“Actually Mr. Schue, Puck and I have something we want to tell everyone before we start,” Finn told him. 

Mr. Schue gave them a confused look but still said, “Alright then, the floor is yours.”

“Okay well, I know you all have been hearing stuff going around, so we just wanted to set the record straight,” Finn told them before looking at Puck for him to take over.

Puck then said, “Yeah, so I doubt this’ll come as a total surprise, but Finn and I are dating. We have been for a few weeks.”

“Just a few weeks?” Santana asked, sounding a little surprised, “I could’ve sworn it was longer than that. The two of you have been making goo goo eyes at each other since the beginning of the school year.”

Finn laughed a little and said, “Yeah, just a few weeks.”

“Aww, well that’s cute,” Santana said, “Seriously, I know first hand it’s not easy being outed, so I’m glad you guys are taking it in stride.”

“Yeah, they’re like dolphins,” Brittany added. 

“Dolphins?” Puck asked in a confused tone. 

“Yeah, dolphins are gay sharks,” Brittany explained, “They fight for acceptance among all the other seas creatures in order to love each other freely becuase their love is one worth fighting for.”

“Huh, I guess we are dolphins,” Finn said. 

Puck nodded, “I’m down with that.”

Puck then lifted Finn’s hand and kissed it, causing Finn to both smile and blush furiously. Over the weeks, Puck noticed that Finn’s favorite spot to be kissed was his hand. He always smiled the brightest when Puck kissed his hand, so Puck did it a lot. 

“Okay Seriously, enough of this dolphin talk!” Rachel yelled, jumping out of her seat before turning to Puck and Finn, “I can’t believe the two of you are really making all this up!”

The second Rachel said that, a fire practically exploded in Puck’s stomach. He knew Rachel was going to be pissy about this, but he really didn’t think she had enough audacity to accuse him and Finn of lying about this. That was a new low, even for Rachel. Puck snapped at her, “Why the hell would we make this up?”

“You guys just want to hurt me! It’s because Finn is still mad about the fact that we didn’t reconcile our relationship in New York, so he roped you into helping him get revenge! Since I’ve dated both of you in the past, you two knew that you guys pretending to date was the best way to upset me! And you know what? It worked, so you guys can just drop the act now!” Rachel yelled at Puck. 

Finn squeezed Puck’s hand tightly in silent support while Puck clenched and unclenched his jaw a few times. Once he was sure that he wouldn’t completely blow up, Puck said in a surprisingly calm voice, “Wow Rachel, you really are a special kind of self-centered.”

“Excuse me?” Rachel asked as if she really was the one who should be offended in this situation. 

“You heard me. You really are the most selfish person I’ve ever met,” Puck told her, more aggressively this time, “This might come as a shock to you, but not everything is about you! Finn and I’s relationship certainly isn’t about you. Believe it or not, we weren’t even thinking about you when we got together! The fact that you seriously think Finn and I would go through all of this just to spite you is honestly the most conceded thing you’ve ever done!”

“Finn, are you seriously going to let him talk to me like this?” Rachel asked, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

“Well Rachel, what do you want me to do? You just accused us of faking our relationship to hurt you! That’s pretty messed up,” Finn responded, “I know this comes as a surprise to you, and I’m sorry about that, but Puck and I are together now. There’s nothing you can do to change that. I love Puck, and he loves me.”

“You can’t love Puck, Finn. You love me!” Rachel insisted. 

Santana then spoke up and yelled, “Jesus Christ, man hands! For once in your life just shut up!”

“No!” Rachel yelled back, “I’m not going to let them keep up this facade!”

“It’s not a facade, Rachel. They’ve told you that. It’s hard enough for them to come out like this without you accusing them of lying, so how about you just sit down and support them,” Quinn said calmly but sternly. It was clear by the look on her face that she was holding back her anger. 

Rachel started to stutter, “B-bbut…”

Whatever she was about to say was caught off by Finn asking, “Rachel, can we go talk in the hall?”

Rachel huffed once more before stomping out of the choir room. Before walking out himself, Finn kissed Puck on the cheek and promised him, “I’ll be right back.”

He walked out to the hall to see Rachel standing there with her arms crossed. She asked him, “You wanted to talk?”

“I wanted to tell you this in private, not in front of the entire glee club,” Finn told her, “I know this is hard for you, and I’m sorry. But I need to understand that this is real. Puck and I are really dating. This relationship is really important to me, and it would really mean a lot if you were a little bit more accepting.”

Rachel still wasn’t backing down though because she asked him, “How exactly do you expect me to be supportive of this? Just because we broke up doesn’t mean that it’s over, that the feelings between us are gone. I know you don’t love Puck, not really. You love me.”

“I thought I loved you,” Finn corrected, “But the truth is, I never gave my heart to you. It’s always belonged to Puck. I’m sorry Rachel, but it’s over between us. It’s been over for a while.”

Tears were running down Rachel’s face which made Finn feel a little guilty, but not guilty enough to try and comfort her. After all, she did do this to herself. Finally, Rachel told him, “I’ll never forgive you for this.”

“And that’s okay,” Finn responded, “Because I know I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Rachel huffed once more before storming off down the hall, leaving Finn to lean against the wall and sigh. A few moments later, Puck walked out of the choir room and leaned against the wall next to Finn and asked, “How did it go?”

“Terrible,” Finn answered, “She really tried to convince me that I still love her, and when I insisted that I didn’t she told me that she’d never forgive me.”

Puck scoffed before asking, “What did you say to that?”

“I told her that was fine because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Finn responded. 

Puck nodded and said, “Damn right.”

“Part of me still feels kind of guilty though,” Finn said, “I never want to make anyone that upset.”

“I know you don’t, but you can’t control her reaction at the end of the day,” Puck told him, “If she wants to be crazy about this, that’s on her. You can’t take responsibility for it.”

Finn nodded before smiling and asking, “How did I get such a smart boyfriend?”

“Just lucky I guess,” Puck answered with a small shrug. 

Finn laughed a little at that before Puck pulled him into a hug while saying, “Come here.”

Finn gladly accepted the hug and buried his face in Puck’s neck a little bit, which honestly did make Finn feel a little bit better. Puck had a natural ability to cheer Finn up whenever he needed too. When Puck pulled away from the hug, he still kept his arms around Finn as he asked, “You ready to go back in?”

“Are you gonna serenade me?” Finn asked jokingly with a goofy smile. 

Puck chuckled and said, “I‘m not so sure about that.” 

“But I like it when you serenade me,” Finn told him as he gave his boyfriend a dramatic. 

Puck rolled his eyes good naturedly at the way Finn was able to turn the table on their conversation from Friday. He finally caved and said, “Fine, I’ll serenade you.”

“Thank you, Noah,” Finn said teasingly. Instead of doing what Puck did and pressing a ton of fast kisses to Puck’s cheek, Finn just pressed one giant, slow kiss onto Puck’s cheek which caused Puck to both laugh and try to squirm out of Finn’s grip, “Finn, stop please!” 

“But I just love you so much,” Finn told him. 

“And I love you,” Puck responded, giving him a quick cheek kiss, “But we need to get back in there now.”

“Alright, alright,” Finn said, grabbing Puck’s hand as they walked back into the choir room. 

When they walked back in, Sam asked, “So wait, since you guys are a thing now, what’s your ship name gonna be?”

“Yeah, we need something cute to call the two of you guys,” Mercedes added. 

Mike then spoke up and said, “Oh, we already agreed on Pinn.”

“Wait, you already knew Mike?” Artie questioned. 

“Both of us did actually,” Tina answered, “We caught them holding hands at the movies on Friday, so we asked them about it yesterday.”

Artie then said, “Dang, so you guys got the exclusive.”

“Yeah, and that means we got to pick the ship name,” Mike added. 

“I like Pinn,” Blaine commented before turning to Kurt and saying, “It might just be better than Klaine.”

“Woah there, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Kurt warned, although there was laughter in his voice. 

Everyone laughed at that before Mr. Schue asked, “Well, Puck, Finn, since you guys were brave enough to trust us and tell all of us this, would you care to kick off today’s meeting with a duet.”

Finn and Puck both smiled at each other before Finn answered, “Yeah, I think we can manage that.”

“What happened to me serenading you?” Puck whispered to him. 

Finn whispered back, “This works too.”

The two of them ended up singing “I Want Crazy” by Hunter Hayes. It was a country song, different from their usual rock n’ roll genre, but both of them had fun singing it. They mostly picked it because Finn shut down Puck’s genius suggestion to sing “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC. Plus, the lyrics kind of fit their relationship perfectly. 

_But I don't want "good" and I don't want "good enough"_

_I want "can't sleep, can't breathe without your love"_

_Front porch and one more kiss, it doesn't make sense to anybody else_

_Who cares if you're all I think about,_

_I've searched the world and I know now,_

_It ain't right if you ain't lost your mind_

_Yeah, I don't want easy, I want crazy_

_Are you with me baby? Let's be crazy_

Once glee club was over, Finn asked Puck if he wanted to come over later, since both Carole and Burt were working late, and Puck readily agreed. That evening when Puck went over to his house though, he was a little surprised to see Kurt answer the door instead of Finn. Kurt seemed a little surprised to see Puck as well, because he stuttered out, “Oh..Puck, hi.”

“Hey Kurt,” Puck greeted awkwardly, “Um, is Finn here?”

“Yeah, he’s up in his room,” Kurt answered, “Don’t worry, Blaine’s coming to pick me up soon, so you guys will have the whole house to yourselves.”

Puck nodded, “Cool, thanks man.”

Kurt then moved out of the doorframe to let Puck in. Puck walked through the door and was about to walk up the stairs when Kurt asked, “Wait Puck, can we actually talk for a moment?”

That definitely threw Puck off. Despite the fact that he and Kurt had become friends during their time in glee club together, they weren’t necessarily the closet out of the glee kids. Puck liked Kurt just fine, even made sure to defend and protect him during the Karofsky stuff, they just didn’t really have that much in common. Granted, they had become closer after Kurt and Finn became brothers, but that didn’t mean that Puck and Kurt were having a lot of one-on-one conversations. Still, Puck definitely trusted Kurt, so he answered, “Yeah, sure.”

The two of them plopped down on the couch and Puck slouched a little as he asked, “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know how brave you and Finn are,” Kurt answered, “I can’t imagine coming out is easy with those buffoons on the football team giving you guys a hard time. I know for a fact that Rachel is making it much harder than it needs to be. It takes a lot of strength to go through all of this crap, so I just want you to know that it’s really admirable of the two of you.”

“Thanks man,” Puck responded, although it felt a little lame compared to what Kurt just said. He really did appreciate Kurt’s words, but Puck wasn’t one for big, dramatic speeches like Kurt was. 

Speaking of, Kurt then added, “Also, I know you and I aren’t exactly the best of friends, but I have been through something similar before. If you and Finn ever wanna talk, I’m here, okay? I can guide you guys through the big, scary gay world.”

Puck laughed at that, “Thanks, Kurt. I’m not the best at words, but I do really appreciate you supporting Finn and I. It really does mean a lot to both of us, especially Finn.”

“Of course, he’s my brother,” Kurt told him, “And there is a possibility that you and I could be brother-in-laws one day.”

Puck smiled at that through before giving Kurt a bro hug. He then said, “Thanks again, bro.”

“No problem,” Kurt responded, “Now go have fun with your boyfriend.”

“You too, man,” Puck told him as he got up from the couch and walked up the stairs, “Tell Blaine I said hi.”

“Will do!” Kurt called as Puck was now halfway up the stairs. 

When Puck got up to Finn’s room, he didn’t bother to knock since he hadn’t knocked since third grade. He just walked right in to see Finn sitting on one of his beanbags while playing video games. When he saw Puck, he smiled and got up from his beanbag as he said, “Hey babe.”

“Babe?” Puck asked curiously as Finn kissed him on the cheek. 

Finn shrugged, “I figured that we were on the pet name phase by now.”

“I like it,” Puck told him before asking, “So what do you want me to call you?”

“Up to you,” Finn answered as the two of them plopped down on Finn’s bean bag chair and Finn handed Puck an Xbox controller. The two of them spent the next two hours playing Super Smash Bros, and by the first half hour, Puck was practically sitting on Finn’s lap. Finn was crushing Puck in the game, and Puck kept insisting that he was letting Finn win. It wasn’t a total lie, because Puck was pretty distracted while he was playing. Not only was he trying to think of a good nickname for Finn, but he was always thinking about kissing Finn. He knew that he was definitely ready to kiss Finn, it was just a matter of figuring out how he wanted to do it. He knew that he wanted it to be special, so he was trying to figure out how to make that happen. 

After a lot of thought, Puck was certain that he had the perfect plan. The conference championship game was coming up in two weeks, and the win was pretty much in the bag. After they won the game, Puck would take Finn back to the choir room and play him a song on his Guaita before finally kissing Finn. It would be the perfect first kiss. 

“What are you thinking about?” Finn asked, pulling Puck out of his planning. 

“Oh, Kurt and I talked for a bit when I first got here,” Puck covered up, “I was just thinking about what he said.”

“Oh god, what did he say?” Finn asked, clearly worried. 

Puck shook his head, “Don’t worry, it was actually a pretty good conversation. He told me how brave the two of us are, and that if we ever need advice about the big, gay world, he can explain it to us.”

“Oh, that’s actually really cool of him,” Finn said, sounding a little surprised. 

Puck responded, “Yeah, it was. If only Rachel had been that cool about it.”

Truth be told, Puck still was pretty bitter about the way Rachel reacted. Sure, she was annoying in the past, but Puck really believed that she was capable of being a good friend. Apparently not, though because she couldn’t even find it in that Broadway-loving heart to at least not have a totally freak out. 

“Yeah, that was ridiculous. I’m honestly surprised she didn’t start breaking things,” Finn added, “You’re worth it, though.”

Puck smiled at that, “Aww, thanks cutie.”

“Cutie?” Finn questioned with a raised eyebrow. 

Puck shrugged. The name just kind of came to him when he thought about Finn, “It suits you. What do you think?”

“I like it,” Finn answered, “Thanks babe.”

“You’re welcome, cutie,” Puck responded, kissing Finn on the temple. 

The two weeks leading up to the conference game were strange for Finn and Puck, but not necessarily in a bad way. Pretty much the entire school knew about them now, and while that kind of blew up their “down low” plan, it also meant that Puck and Finn didn’t have to worry about getting caught anymore. The bandage was ripped off, and now it was just a matter or dealing with it. People actually left them alone for the most part, mostly because people were terrified of Puck. Rachel still wasn’t talking to either of them, but the rest of the glee club completely supported the two of them which was more than enough to make up for Rachel. Still, the guys on the football team were really giving Puck and Finn a hard time. So much so to the point where Finn made Puck promise him he wouldn’t get into anymore fights, and that was a promise that Puck had kept. The night the conference game actually came around, the entire school was buzzing with excitement. Although for Puck, he wasn’t sure if he was more excited for the actual game or for what he was going to do afterwards. 

As usual, Puck and Finn were the last out of the locker room. Once they had all their gear on, Puck asked Finn excitedly, “You ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Finn said in a shaky voice. Puck could practically feel the nerves coming off of Finn. 

“Hey, relax, we’ve got this in the bag,” Puck told Finn, with a hand on his shoulder, “Just take a deep breath.”

Finn closed his eyes and did as he was told, when he opened his eyes, Puck told him, “I’ve got your back out on the field.”

“Thanks babe,” Finn said with a still slightly nervous smile. 

Puck smiled back at him before kissing Finn’s hand and then his cheek. The sweet moment between the two of them was shattered through when an arrogant voice said, “Aww, well isn’t that sweet?”

Finn and Puck broke apart from each other to see Azimio Adams standing there with his arms crossed. Apparently, his reign of terror still wasn’t over. Both Puck and Finn had more than enough of him at this point though because Finn told him, “Beat it!”

“Come on, Hudson. I mean no harm. I just want to stay and watch the pony show,” Azimio taunted. 

Puck slammed his locker shot before getting in Azimio’s face and telling him angrily, “You better watch it, you son of a bitch.”

“Puck don’t,” Finn pleaded. 

Once he said that, Puck took a few deep breaths, remembering his promise to Finn: no more fights. Once he calmed down enough, Puck took Finn’s hand in his and they started to walk out of the locker room. Before they did, Amnizo asked, “What Puckerman? You’re too much of a fairy to fight now?”

“Excuse me?” The unmistakable voice of Coach Beiste asked as she walked into the locker room. 

Puck could practically see Azimio freeze, and it gave him such satisfaction to watch. It was about time for that guy to start shaking in his boots. Azimio tried to back track and said in a panicked voice, “Coach, I...I just…”

“Don’t try to back track, Adams. I heard you perfectly clear,” Coach told him in her “no nonsense” voice, “You’re off the team.”

“But Coach I…” Azimio started to say. 

“No buts. I won’t have any kind of intolerance on my team,” Coach cut him off, “Get to walking!”

Azimio shoulder checked Puck before storming out of the locker room. Once he was gone, Coach asked Finn and Puck, “You two pumpkins okay?”

“Yeah,” Finn answered while Puck said, “We’re fine.”

“Don’t let him rattle you. You two just go out there and do what you do best,” She told them. 

And that’s exactly what they did. Finn and Puck ended up scoring the game winning touchdown when Finn threw the ball to Puck and Puck took off down the field like a speeding bullet. Puck made it into the end zone just as the buzzer went off, and the crowd erupted into cheers. Puck then ran over to tackle Finn in a hug, and it took everything in Puck’s power not to kiss him right on the field. Instead Puck settled for quite literally jumping into Finn’s arms and giving him a crushing hug. Finn hugged him back with just as much excitement and told his boyfriend, “We did it! I’m so proud of you!”

“I’m proud of you too, cutie!” Puck responded, “Meet me in the choir room once everything is over.”

“Okay,” Finn said curiously before asking, “Do you want me to get changed first?”

“Nah, you look good in your uniform,” Puck answered. 

Finn laughed and blushed at that, “Okay.”

Once the celebrations with the rest of the team and the congratulations talk from Coach was over, Puck snuck off to the choir room to get everything ready, not even bothering to get changed first. A few minutes after Puck had snuck off, Finn walked into the choir room to see Puck holding his guitar before asking, “What’s going on?”

“Sit down?” Puck asked gently. 

Finn nodded before sitting down in one of the chairs. Puck was happy to see that Finn was still in his uniform. He really did look great in it. Finn then asked, “So what’s this about?”

“I just wanted to say thank you for everything,” Puck explained, “Thank you for loving me, for giving me a chance, for being so patient for me, for sticking by me through all this crap. I know it hasn’t been easy for you. I’m not always the best at speaking, so I’ll just let the song speak for itself.”

When Puck started playing the opening chords to the song, Finn gasped a little in pleasant surprise. He instantly recognized the song. 

_You're not alone_

_Together we stand_

_I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand_

_When it gets cold_

_And it feels like the end_

_There's no place to go_

_You know I won't give in_

_No I won't give in_

They had sung this song in glee club sophomore year when both Finn and Puck were going through a difficult time. It had given them hope in a time that seemed hopeless. While the context of the song was different now, it still held a lot of meaning to Finn. And in an odd way, it perfectly applied to Finn and Puck’s relationship. 

_Keep holding on_

_'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

_Just stay strong_

_'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you_

As Puck continued to play, Finn started to tear up a little bit. He was a little embarrassed to be getting so sappy, but he could tell by the smile on Puck’s face that he was pleased with Finn’s reaction. 

_There's nothing you could say_

_Nothing you could do_

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth_

_So keep holding on_

_'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

When Puck finished that chorus, he gave Finn a small wink which Finn took as his cue to join in. 

_So far away_

_I wish you were here_

_Before it's too late, this could all disappear_

_Before the doors close_

_And it comes to an end_

Finn stood up from his chair and walked towards Puck as he continued to sing. 

_With you by my side I will fight and defend_

_I'll fight and defend_

_Yeah, yeah_

Puck and Finn then joined in at the chorus, their voices blending together perfectly as usual. Just like they did in “Give Me Love”, they started to slowly circle around each other. 

_Keep holding on_

_'Cause you know we'll make it through_

_We'll make it through_

_Just stay strong_

_'Cause you know I'm here for you_

_I'm here for you_

Puck always got lost in the music whenever he sang with Finn, and this time was now exception. Music was their safe haven where it was just the two of them in their own little world. It really made Puck feel like he was floating. 

_There's nothing you could say_

_Nothing you could do_

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth,_

_So keep holding on_

_'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

It was no secret that Finn and Puck had a strong connection, but singing together only strengthened it. It was honestly a little crazy how much closer music made Puck feel to Finn. 

_Hear me when I say, when I say I believe_

_Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny_

_Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…_

At this point, Puck and Finn had stopped circling around each other, and simply stood close to each other as they finished the song. 

_Keep holding on_

_(Just stay strong) Just stay strong_

_Keep holding on_

_There's nothing you could say (Nothing you can say)_

_Nothing you could do (Nothing you could do)_

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth_

_So keep holding on_

_'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

Once the song was finished, Finn was smiling brightly at Puck with so much love in his eyes, Puck knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this was the perfect moment. He carefully slung his guitar over his back before gently grabbing Finn by the shoulders and pulling him close, finally kissing him. When Puck did this, Finn responded almost instantly, cupping Puck’s face in his hands and kissing him back. 

Puck didn’t know a way to describe kissing Finn other than...magical. Yeah, it was completely cheesy and not at all badass, but that’s honestly how it felt. Puck’s mind was completely blank from pure bliss. He was completely lost in the feeling of kissing Finn. He had imagined his first kiss with Finn a thousand times, but this was a million times better than he could have ever hoped for. The kiss was soft, slow, and gentle, and filled with so much love and emotion that it made Puck’s heart swell. He could literally feel how much Finn loved him just from the kiss, and it was incredible. Talk about feeling like he was floating. At one point, Finn lightly stroked Puck’s cheek, and Puck literally _sighed_ from happiness. He didn’t ever want to pull away, but unfortunately he eventually needed to catch his breath. 

When they did pull away, both of them were panting heavily but smiling giddily. Of course, this kiss had surpassed any expectations Puck ever had, and he couldn’t imagine Finn feeling any different. Still, Puck couldn’t stop himself from asking Finn in a whisper, “Was that okay?”

Finn laughed breathlessly before answering, “It was perfect.”

As if to prove his point further, Finn leaned in and kissed Puck once more. It was a little more intense than the first one, but just was amazing. It didn’t last as long as the first kiss, but that was only because both boys were smiling too much to kiss properly. When they pulled away this time, Finn said to Puck, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Puck responded, “Come on, let’s go get ice cream. My treat.”

Finn started to protest, “But…”

“No buts,” Puck said, cutting him off, “We need to celebrate our big win.”

“Okay fine,” Finn responded, “But I’m buying the ice cream when we win Regionals.”

“Seems like a fair trade,” Puck said, still unable to control his smile. 

He gave Finn one last quick peck on the lips before they walked out of the choir room hand in hand. 

That was the first time Puck ever kissed Finn. After that, they kissed each other plenty in private, and it was better than Puck had ever imagined. Finn’s kisses were always sweet and loving, and Puck couldn’t get enough of them. They never kissed in front of anyone else. Despite the fact that they had become more comfortable about being public about their relationship, kisses were something that they kept for just them. Having their relationship out in the opening slowly became easier. After hearing about what Coach Beiste did to Azimio, all the other football guys left them alone out of fear of losing their spots on the team. Rachel still wasn’t talking to either Finn or Puck, but that ended up being a good thing. Aside from the occasional death glares during glee club practice, she pretty much left them alone. It was really for the better. Puck and Finn didn’t need her making them feel guilty when they, in reality, had nothing to feel guilty about. They simply continued their relationship of simple, sweet dates and private kisses. 

The first time they ever kissed in public was at Regionals. New Directions had just been declared the winners, and everyone was jumping up and down from pure excitement as confetti flew all over the place. Whether it was from the adrenaline or from seeing how Finn’s face was lit up from excitement, Puck couldn’t stop himself from pulling Finn in for a passionate kiss which Finn happily reciprocated. 

Puck could faintly hear the other glee club members cheering for them, but it sounded muffled to Puck the same way a sound would be muffled from underwater. He was too lost in kissing Finn. The adrenaline and excitement from winning caused Puck to kiss Finn more passionately, and Finn kissed back with just as much passion. The kiss was so long that by the time they pulled away, both of them were struggling to catch their breaths. 

While panting heavily, Finn managed to say to Puck, “Damn, babe.”

Puck chuckled at that before telling him, “I love you so much, cutie.”

“I love you too, Puck,” Finn responded before pulling his boyfriend in for another kiss. 

High school hadn’t been easy on Puck and Finn, but they made it through stronger than ever. It seemed like a lifetime ago that Puck was so certain that Finn could never love him back, and now the two of them were kissing on stage in front of an audience, so happy and oh so in love. It was surreal. It had taken a long time and a lot of baby steps to get there, but it was so worth it. 


End file.
